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Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet Found to Treat Type 2 Diabetes

Research from Italy’s University Hospital at the Second University of Naples has determined that a Mediterranean Diet treats type 2 diabetes and decreases the need for diabetes medication.

The research, funded by the American Diabetes Association, followed 215 middle-aged men and women who were recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. They were divided into two groups. One group was given a low-fat diet and the other a low-carbohydrate Mediterranean diet.

The subjects were followed for between six and eight years. The researchers measured diabetes marker HbA1c along with other symptoms of diabetes and medication use. They also measured body weight and mortality rate.

After this period, the researchers found that the rates of complete remission of diabetes among the low-carb Med Diet group was nearly three times the remission rate of the low-fat diet group at both one year and six years. The low-carb Med Diet group had a 15% remission at one year and 4% at year six.

The low-carb Med Diet group also had significantly reduced levels of HbA1c – a marker for increased diabetes risk and low glycemic control.

Low-fat diets have also been shown to curb diabetes risk

Low-fat, high-fiber diets have been found in earlier research to reduce type 2 diabetes risk and symptoms. A 2006 study of 522 men and women from Finland’s National Public Health Institute found that low-fat, high-fiber diets significantly beat high-fat, low-fiber diets for diabetes symptoms.

In this four-year study of Europeans, high-fiber, low-fat diets had 62% reduced type 2 diabetes incidence, while high-fat, low-fiber diets and more than double the risk (214%) for those with the highest quartile of fat intake. When compared with the high-fiber, low-fat group, high-fat diets ranged from nearly double to 268% more diabetes risk.

Commentary

As we see from this most recent study, a low-carb Mediterranean diet performs even better than a low-fat diet. A low-carb Mediterranean diet contains a larger concentration of plant-based foods, healthy oils such as olive oil and more nuts – containing more monounsaturated and omega-3 fats.

Case Adams is a California Naturopath with a PhD in Natural Health Sciences, and Board Certified Alternative Medicine Practitioner. He has authored 26 books on natural healing strategies. “My journey into writing about alternative medicine began about 9:30 one evening after I finished with a patient at the clinic I practiced at over a decade ago. I had just spent the last two hours explaining how diet, sleep and other lifestyle choices create health problems and how changes in these, along with certain herbal medicines and other natural strategies can radically yet safely turn ones health around. As I drove home that night, I realized I needed to get this knowledge out to more people. So I began writing about health with a mission to reach those who desperately need this information. The strategies in my books and articles are backed by scientific evidence along with wisdom handed down through traditional medicines for thousands of years.”